Great Comedian George Carlin Dies at 71

George Carlin – who once wryly wondered, “Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?” – is being mourned by fellow comedians such as Ben Stiller and Jay Leno, not only for being a groundbreaker in entertainment but an individual of great honor.

“George Carlin was a hugely influential force in stand-up comedy,” Stiller, 42, said in a statement. “He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave, and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining. He was one of the greats and he will be missed.”

Carlin, 71, died Sunday of heart failure.

Staff members of Saturday Night Live and David Letterman’s Late Show are said to devastated by the loss, a former associate of both programs tells PEOPLE.

Comic actor-writer Marshall Efron – a friend who recalled Carlin as “a nice guy” – tells PEOPLE that he once “received a check out of the blue from George, simply because he’d used [in his act] a funny line he’d heard me say.”

“If there was ever a comedian who was a voice of their generation it was George Carlin,” said Leno, who frequently had Carlin on the Tonight Show (a venue on which Carlin started appearing in the 1960s).

“Before George, comedians aspired to put on nice suits and perform in Las Vegas. George rebelled against that life. His comedy took on privilege and elitism, even railing against the game of golf.”

Despite the passage of years, said Leno, 58, “He never lost that fire. May he continue to inspire young people never to accept the status quo.”

“Nobody was funnier than George Carlin,” Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin director Judd Apatow, 40, told the Associated Press. “I spent half my childhood in my room listening to his records experiencing pure joy. And he was as kind as he was funny.”
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What a bummer this was. Honestly one of the only comedians that would make me hold my sides laughing everytime! I think of his observation of everyone telling to have a nice day and him responding with, “will you just give me my f$@*%@g change please?”, whenever im told that. What a great comedian he was!